Churches Help Make Easter More Festive For Migrant Children

March 28, 1986|By Steve Nichol, Staff Writer

Down a shock absorber-testing dirt road next to the vast agricultural lands west of Delray Beach, Boca Raton church-goers met south Palm Beach County`s migrant children on Wednesday to help them learn the meaning of Easter.

The two Boca Raton churches provided a clown, pizza, soda and an egg hunt that had 80 children scurrying about the In the Pines migrant camp, where Half-Mile Road dead-ends south of Atlantic Avenue.

``I think it`s nice for the kids to enjoy themselves,`` said Dianna Jimenez, as she watched her 3-year-old daughter, Anna Lisa, enjoy the antics of Twinkles the Clown.

Without the aid and good will of St. Joan of Arc and St. Gregory`s Episcopal churches in Boca Raton, Easter would not be as festive or meaningful for the children, said Jimenez.

``Most of the people are low income. The only money goes to pay the rent or the light bill,`` said Jimenez. ``There`s no money to buy an Easter basket.``

The Easter basket consisted of candies. The children also were given Easter coloring books and other little books telling the story of the holiday. A package of toilet articles and a three-pound canned ham also were provided.

While St. Gregory`s was participating for the first year, it was the fifth such Easter celebration and sixth year of an overall migrant outreach program for St. Joan of Arc.

So when Nancy Schouten of St. Joan`s saw Angel Padilla, now 13, walk by with his books from school, she remembered the first summer camp sponsored by the church for the migrant children four years ago.

``He was the biggest devil in our whole camp,`` Schouten said with a laugh.

``To see them have an opportunity to have a better life makes you feel good, that things like this might have helped them along the way,`` she said.

Donna Goray, president of the South Palm Beach County Migrant Coordinating Council, agreed. ``This is the most important thing we do, working with the farmworker children.``

Nearly half the migrant children have been living in Palm Beach County for five years, Goray said.

``That tells you they are going to stay in Palm Beach County. I want them to be productive adults. I want them to be caring adults and to know they have a place,`` Goray said.